a. Technical Field
The instant disclosure relates generally to location sensors and more particularly to a distributed location sensor for use in a medical device.
b. Background Art
Medical devices such as guidewires, catheters, introducers and the like with magnetic field-based position sensors for device navigation are used in various medical procedures in the body. Typically, a magnetic field position sensor includes a generally cylindrical coil that transforms an applied magnetic field into an induced voltage. This induced voltage is used by an upstream localization system to compute the sensor's spatial position and orientation. For example only, it is known to equip a catheter with one or more coils sufficient to allow detection of five (5) or six (6) degrees-of-freedom (DOF), namely, a three-dimensional (3D) position (X, Y, Z) and two or three orientation parameters (e.g., roll, pitch, yaw).
In practice, repeatable and accurate location computation by the localization system is dependent on the availability of a clear induced voltage (i.e., a signal having a good signal to noise ratio). Moreover, there is a linear correlation between the sensor size and the induced voltage (and/or current) yielded by the sensor. Thus, with the ongoing process of miniaturization of such coil sensors, limits are being reached where the induced voltages are inadequate for use in repeatable and accurate location computations.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate the present field and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.